Meta Quest headsets will finally stop requiring a Facebook account

theverge.com:

Meta is introducing a new account system for its virtual reality headsets, changing a 2020 requirement that most users log in with Facebook. The new “Meta accounts” don’t require users to sign up for Facebook, and they come with a slew of other updates to Meta’s VR social interface.

Meta accounts will start rolling out in August 2022 for new and existing Quest users. If you’ve been using a Facebook account with a Quest headset (including a Facebook account merged with an earlier Oculus account), you’ll need to create a Meta profile that month. If you’ve been logging in with an Oculus account, you can keep using it until January 1st, 2023, as previously promised. If you migrate your account, you’re supposed to see all the VR apps you previously purchased.

The new option fulfills a promise Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made last year, and it addresses the fact that a large part of Meta’s VR user base hated the Facebook account requirement. It also reflects Meta’s desire to move away from traditional social apps like Facebook to virtual “metaverse” environments. The company says it’s planning to extend Meta account service to “other Meta devices” in the future, possibly referring to something like Portal videophones.

Practically speaking, however, a lot of Facebook account requirements seem present in Meta accounts as well. Meta account creation requires plenty of personal information, including your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and payment details for buying apps. A blog post about the change says your Meta account is “not a social profile,” but it says you’ll need to create a Meta Horizon profile, which is social and will appear both in VR and “other surfaces, like the web.”

There are three privacy options